27. The usual market method of preserving eggs is by cold storage, an
industry that has developed to vast proportions in recent years. The
success of this method depends on the fact that germs causing
decomposition will not live in a low temperature. While the plan of
storing eggs is responsible for their high price at certain times, it is
also a means of supplying eggs to many persons who would otherwise not
be able to obtain them. The greatest point in favor of this plan,
however, is that it makes possible the marketing of quantities of eggs
during the winter season of scarcity at a price that, although somewhat
high at times, is much more moderate than it would be if it were not
possible to store eggs in large quantities.
28. In order that advantage may be taken of favorable climatic
conditions, eggs are commonly purchased for storage as early in the year
as they are abundant. They are selected with great care, only those
which are clean, sound, and fresh being used. These eggs are packed in
clean cases, and then placed in warehouses where they are kept at a
temperature just above freezing, or one that ranges from 32 to 40
degrees Fahrenheit. In such storage, precaution is usually taken to
prevent the eggs from freezing, for while freezing does not necessarily
injure them for immediate use it breaks the shell because of the
contraction that occurs. While the eggs are in storage, they are also
protected as far as possible from air circulation, as this increases
evaporation and causes the contents of eggs to shrink. To prevent the
yolks from settling to one side, and finally adhering to the shell, the
eggs are turned frequently. The usual limits of storage are from 6 to 9
months, but eggs are not generally allowed to remain in storage more
than 8 months. When taken out at the end of that time, it will be found
that they have deteriorated very little, and while they cannot compete
with the better grades of fresh eggs, they are as desirable as most of
the eggs that can be purchased in the early fall when eggs are not
plentiful.
29. Sometimes eggs are removed from the shells, stored for commercial
use in containers of about 50 pounds each, and kept at the freezing
point until they are to be used. Eggs in this form, which may be bought
with the yolks and whites either mixed or separate, find a ready market
in bakeries and restaurants, where large quantities of eggs are
continually used. Such eggs remain good for any length of time while
they are kept frozen, but they must be used immediately after they are
removed from storage.
30. It is not always necessary to keep eggs at a cold temperature in
order to preserve them, for a method that has proved very satisfactory
is to reduce them to the form of powder by drying them. In this form,
the bulk is greatly reduced, 1 pound of the dry material representing 30
to 40 eggs, and in order to prepare them for use in cooking they must be
mixed with water. POWDERED EGGS, or _desiccated eggs_, as they are
usually called, can be kept for an indefinite length of time without
special care in storage, when they are wholesome and carefully handled.
Tests that have been made show that eggs of this kind give fairly good
results when used in cookery, but they are used principally by bakers,
for they can be obtained more cheaply than fresh eggs, especially when
it is difficult to secure eggs in other forms.